Whose King Shall Win?
by Four Leaved Clover
Summary: Sequel to Pawn on the Chessboard. Deep underground, dark power is gathering. Voldemort has torn the world into two armies. But the question is, Whose King Shall Win? FINALLY UPDATED featuring Hermione the Con Artist
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

The rain was falling harder now.

She pulled her hood over her head, over the mass of wet hair protectively. She knew that she should leave, sit somewhere else, but she couldn't move. She had been sitting on this bench in the middle of the square for over an hour. When she came, with the bag of grains in her hand, it had been sunny. She had scattered the grain over the floor, and watched the small white and gray birds come and peck at it. She had watched them take off, spreading they're grateful wings, and then come back, as her hand once more swept open, and the hard grain clattered onto the cobbled floor. Now, it was raining, and the birds were huddled in the trees. But still her hand moved. Still she threw wet, soggy grain on the ground, which she knew no bird would eat.

A couple of people past by, snuggled in mackintoshes and under umbrellas. They cast curious glances at the soaking girl, draped in a large black shawl, her eyes glassy and unfocused, as she threw grain onto the ground. There were no birds; just her sadness.

Hermione hadn't come to this old Muggle square for a long time. She remembered when she was little, and her father used to bring her here to feed the birds. How she had loved seeing their little heads, cocked with interest, and the little white wings flapping.

Now, however, she couldn't find the childish solace she used to get here. Now all she felt were the same doubts that had been torturing her mind. The very same thing.

There was the issue of Harry and Ron. They had left more than five months back, and other than the one letter she had got, right at the beginning, there was no sign of them. She hasn't heard from them in ages. She had no idea where her best friends were, whether they were dead, or alive…anything…

Then there was Mrs. Weasley. She had been growing upset, restless. She missed her son and his best friend. Hermione had heard her sobs at night. She knew the old lady was as wrenched as she was.

And then there was Draco; he had left more than four months back, saying he wanted some time alone. He was as good as orphaned now, and he used to have a hollow look in his eyes. He had left, and Hermione had never got a letter. She didn't know where he was.

Another tear slid down her face.

She was alone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Hey guys! This is the sequel to Pawn on the Chessboard, called Whose King Shall Win? It revolves around the Final Battle with Voldemort, the Resistance, formed by the order members, and Hermione and Draco's relationship, which is teetering right on the edge. It's gonna be a long story, and I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Please review, you know I love you guys! And Lilly, hope the critic in you enjoys this…**


	2. Return of the Draco

**CHAPTER 1**

The Burrow had changed a lot.

It was no longer, the cheery, slightly dilapidated house it had once been. The gate was latched, the door locked, and all the windows shut and barred. Inside the house, the once happy air was laced with sadness. Everybody walked around with grave expressions, as if something terrible had, or was about to, happen.

Fred, George and Percy no longer stayed there. Ever since Ron and Harry had left, the only occupants of the house were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and Hermione. All of them walked around, their faces tight and drawn. Bags under their eyes, and worried twists to their mouths.

As Ginny walked up the garden path to the gate, it struck her odd that all the boys in the house had left.

'We're all alone,' she said, musingly. The rain was falling all around her. she bundled her scarf tighter around her slim neck, and quickly drew up her umbrella. She checked her watch, and knew she had half an hour to find Hermione and get back home in time for lunch.

'Where are you, Mione,' she muttered, stopping outside the gate and glancing around. she decided to try the Park first. She knew Hermione sometimes sat and watched the flowers, and the shadows grow longer as the sun set. As she walked, stepping in puddles which were dancing with more drops, she realized how shattered everyone was.

She reached the park, but there was no sign of Hermione. The bench she normally sat on was filled with water and empty. She frowned. Then, it struck her.

_The Square! Of course!_

She knew Hermione went there to feed the pigeons. She wasn't sure what attatchment Hermione had with these birds, but it seemed to soothe her. she turned around, and frowned at the long walk ahead of her till she reached the Square.

Her thought wandered, as her legs kept perfect pace. To Ron, the brother she had always cared for. To Harry, the only man she had ever loved. Where they were, what they were doing….she winced, thinking of Harry fighting, hurt, injured…as in her dreams, she pictured his startling green eyes closing for the last time.

It hurt, and the tears began to flow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Ginny neared the square, she caught sight of Hermione. Her heart stopped.

The sight before her wrenched her, filled her with inexplicable sadness. Hermione was sitting on a bench, a bag of soggy grain on her lap. Her hands were moving mechanically, throwing grain for the birds which would never eat it. Her eyes were glassy and hollow.

She was thinking about Draco, Ginny knew. She knew just how Hermione was feeling. After all, wasn't that how she felt with Harry?

She began to walk towards her best friend.

'Hermione!' she called.

Two startled brown eyes glanced up.

'G-Ginny? You scared me. What are you doing here?'

Ginny gently sat down beside her, and held the umbrella over her head.

'Mione, we have to go back for lunch. Mum will be expecting us.'

Hermione nodded absently. 'Of course. I'll be along.'

Ginny held her hand, and pulled her up.

'The birds are gone.' She urged her. 'Come home.'

Hermione cast an unhappy look around the empty square. 'Coming.' She said, stuffing the bag into her pocket.

Ginny slipped an arm around her shoulders as the two began shuffling back towards the burrow.

'You were thinking about Draco weren't you?' she asked, gently.

Hermione's eyes teared up a little.

'No news,' she said, softly, 'He hasn't written. It's like…he'd forgotten me.'

Ginny pulled her a little closer.

'Hermione, Draco's in love with you. Of course he hasn't forgotten you. But he's been through a lot. He needs some time alone, don't you think?"

Hermione nodded her eyes still tearful. 'I suppose. But it hurts. I wish he'd come home soon. We never got a chance to be a happy, normal couple. I don't even know if we're formally _together._ I mean, sure we're married, but before this whole thing happened, we hated each other. It's just so confusing…'

'Mione, of course you're together. Believe me, he'll come back. Then, you can sort out everything with him. I know you two have never had your happily-ever-after. Just wait…wait till Voldemort is defeated, and the Death eaters perish. Then, you can live a happily married life.'

Hermione smiled through her tears. 'And you'll be with Harry.'

Ginny didn't reply.

They were walking up the drive way of the Burrow. Hermione flicked her eyes through the trees for a moment.

Her breath caught in her throat.

No…surely, it hadn't been?

She looked again. And for a fleeting second, she was certain once again that through the rain she had seen a shadow glancing at her. A pair of silvery eyes…

She shook her head. Of course not. She was dreaming, again. She turned back, and walked into the house with Ginny.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Draco watched as she walked into the house. She had tears running down her face. He felt his heart beat painfully. Would she be disappointed in him? Or would she accept him again?

Shaking his head, he crept away. He would meet her tomorrow.

**Hey guys! Chapter 1's up! Hope you guys enjoy reading this.**

**SHOUT OUTS**

**Jesska-14: Thanks for reviewing! Yes, it's an unexpected beginning…but that's because the last story didn't end on a happily-ever-after.**

**Lilly- I'm glad you enjoyed POTC. I'll update as soon as possible from now on.**

**Chrissy- Yes, Hermione is staying at the Burrow. That's how Pawn on the Chessboard ended, remember. However, all Mrs. Weasley's sons have left, either for Order work, or on their own business, so Hermione, Ginny and the Weasleys are alone.**

**Alex- Yep, here you are! Will update as soon as possible, keep reviewing!**

**Sly Slytherin Princess- Yeah, it's pretty sad. But don't worry; this story will end on a happy note.**

**harrietpotter- Thanks for the praise, though I'm not sure I deserve it. Keep reviewing, and I'll update faster!**

**Duckeegal20- Innovative name…and of course, I'd write a sequel…you can't leave a story on a sad note like that.**

**Lilly (My one and only) - hey, glad to see you back! Yeah, I said I'd write a sequel, in one of the ANs. And of course Draco's coming back! You don't think he's gonna leave poor Hermione alone, do you?**

**twinklerbell23- Yes, you're my first reviewer. Cheers to you! And here's the thing- I will try and keep all your points in mind while writing the story, but I can't be so sure on the emotion thing. After all, this is a very emotional story. But if you feel it's getting too emotional, tell me and I'll try and cut it down a little.**

**MissDitzy- The reason Draco left was because he needed some time alone, after all he had been through. Anyway, he'll come back soon enough, so that's okay. Thanks for reviewing. **


	3. The Haggard Bear

**CHAPTER 2**

Hermione was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. A candle was lit in her room, casting a soft yellow light on the wooden furnishing. Her eyes were glassy, not really processing what they were seeing.

Draco…

The word repeated itself in her mind. She loved him more than she loved anyone else. And she was sure he loved her too.

'So why did he go?' she asked, herself. 'Why did he leave me?'

she closed her eyes, her heart beating painfully. For some reason, she found herself concentrating on her heart beats.

Beating so hard…

So-

Her eyes flew open. For a moment, she had thought she had heard…

'I'm dreaming,' she whispered, almost to herself.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

She stole a glance at the window. A large, deep brown and russet owl was hovering outside in the darkness. Hermione could see its green eyes very clearly. It was tapping again and again on the window with its beak, an impatient look on its face.

She slid off the bed, and padded softly to the window. Unlatching it, she let the owl in. it hopped onto her desk, and looked reproachfully at her.

'Sorry,' she muttered, 'I was thinking. I didn't hear.'

It stuck its leg out, meaning for her to untie the scrap of paper tied to it. Hermione's nimble fingers quickly untied it, and smoothed out the parchment.

_Hermione_

_This is Carla. We met at the Yule Ball, remember. Anyway, I don't know you that well, but I read the papers, and know all about your husbands disappearance. I'm staying at the Haggard Bear Inn. It's in the village, right next to the Owl Emporium. Come right away, and ask for me at the desk. I think I have something that'll make you feel better._

_Love Carla _

Hermione crumpled up the parchment, frowning thoughtfully. Carla's letter didn't specifiy much, but it had left a tantalizing hint about Draco.

_Do I trust her?'_

_I suppose so._

Carla had been a tall, tanned girl she had met at the seventh year Yule Ball. She had been cheerful, and had a great sense of humor, along with sparkling green eyes under her copper bangs. And if she had news about Draco….

Quickly making up her mind, Hermione jumped up, and threw on a sweater and jeans. She pulled a jacket on, and sent a note through the owl saying she would be right over. She scribbled a second note to Mrs. Weasley, saying she had gone for a walk, and would be back soon. Then, she quietly let herself out.

The path was soggy and wet. The air was cool and crisp, filled with the smell of fresh rain, and drops still feel from the leaves of high trees. Hermione inhaled deeply, trying to clear her mind of the millions of doubts and questions filling it. She began her short walk at a brisk pace, and reached The Village in about ten minutes.

Remembering Carla's words, she scanned the street for the Owl Emporium. She found it, and right next to it a small brick building, with a wooden sign which said "Haggard Bear." She quickly walked up to it, and pushed the door open. A small bell above her tinkled.

The room she had entered was large, and furnished of red stone. There were mnay tables around, and a bar at the far end. At the other end was a small desk, where a balding man with large spectacles sat. Hermione walked up to him.

'Good- um- night? Morning? Look, I'm sorry for the inconvenient hour, but could you please tell me Carla Croft's room? It's urgent.'

The man blinked blandly at her. 'It is violating our clients privacy to send someone to the room so late,' he began, in a slow voice. 'Perhaps if you could come next morning-?'

'She herself invited me,' Hermione said, curtly.

The man surveyed her critically for a moment, and the nodded brusquely. 'This way please,' he said, picking up a candle.

He lead her up a spiral staircase, and then down a very narrow corridor. He stopped at Room 216. Hermione noticed that it had a pair of antlers on a boards hung up over it. She grimaced.

'This is Miss Croft's room,' the man said, 'I will be at the downstairs desk if you need anything.'

Hermione nodded. The man left, and she knocked, her heart beating loudly.

**Hey guys! Another chapter up! I'm sorry, I know this is kinda short, but it's late at night right now (11 PM) and I really want to go to bed… so I'll make the next one longer. This chapter was a relief to write, cause finally something HAPPENS! And Draco's back, yay! **

**Thanks to all of you who reviewed! **

**SHOUT OUTS**

**CherryBlossomAngel-225- Yeah, it's good that Draco's back! But Harry and Ron won't be back for a long time :( after all…Harry has a huge responsibility, and Ron's his faithful side kick. But anyway…Draco's back! Cheers again**

**SeXiE xOx BuNnIe- thanks for the review, nice name, lol. I'll update as soon as possible, worry not!**

**Rilicious- What a nice enthusiastic review! I promise I'll go check out your story tomorrow!**

**Duckeegal20- No, Draco doesn't need to do anything to win back Hermione's faith. After all, he has a perfectly legitimate reason for wanting private solace for some time. And plus, since Hermione's so lost without him, I think the only thing in her mind when he comes back should be "Yay! He's back!"**

**MissDitzy- Thanks for the looong review! Yeah, Ginny has a pretty bad time of it to, but then so does Hermione, and since this story is a DraMione, I'm concentrating more on that. And Ron sent the first letter, which had all Harry and the rest of the members of the resistance's messages too. But for some reason, they aren't writing now… well, you'll just have to read and see why. **

**And yeah, I'll update like the wind (!) like you say!**

**Eowyn89- Don't worry…Draco'll be back soon. As for Harry and Ron, well I can't promise anything!**

**Lilly- Yeah, Draco's FINALLY back. He can be a real jerk sometimes, can't he? But as for Harry and Ron- they have some more pressing matters to take care of at the moment- mainly Voldemort.**

**Lady-of-the-Moon- Thanks for reviewing! I promise to update faster from now on.**

**Dracosgirl2515- yay, your back! Omg, I just finished reading uptil where you last updated Relationships Change 2, It's AMAZING! You have to update NOW!**

**Slytherin-91- You're getting two horses? Lucky you!**


	4. Disappearances

**CHAPTER 3**

The door was thrown open, and Carla stood in front of her. She was dressed in a pair of silky white pajamas. Her waist length copper hair was bundled into a hairnet. In one pale hand, she held a lit candle.

'Hermione,' she whispered, 'That was fast.'

Hermione trudged inside her. Her feet were wet. She glanced apologetically at Clara.

'Oh, that's okay. The floor's seen water before. Do you want something to drink? I can have Tom make some coffee.'

'No thanks, Clara. You called me here for a reason.' Hermione pointed out wearily. Clara nodded.

'Okay,' she said, 'This may be none of my business, but I know all about you and Draco Malfoy. It's all over the newspapers.'

Hermione nodded jadedly. 'I know,' she said, quietly. 'But what's that got to do with-.'

Clara shushed her.

'Today, when I went down for dinner, a man in robes and a hood walked into the inn, and asked for a room. He was given the room right next door.' Clara jerked her thumb in that direction. 'Well, I didn't think anything of it then, but pretty late at night, I heard some noises outside. I opened the door to check, and he was standing there, opening his room door. Apparently he had just come back from somewhere, because his boots were sloshed with mud. And he had his hood pulled back.'

She looked seriously at Hermione. 'It was Malfoy, Hermione. I can swear it. The same blonde hair, pale skin. And he turned, and I got a glimpse of his face. It was definitely him.'

Hermione stared at her. Her brown eyes had gone slightly wide.

'D-Draco?' she whispered. 'Are you sure?'

Carla nodded grimly

She stood up quickly. 'Which room?' she asked.

Carla opened the door, and pointed at the room right across. It was a bright red door which was shut and locked.

Hermione got up. 'Thanks Carla,' she said, 'I'll stay in touch.'

Then, she went and knocked on the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The wind had picked up even higher.

Ginny stirred in bed. She wasn't sleeping very well these nights, and tonight was the worst. Her mind was filled with images of Harry…his eyes, his messy hair, his sweet, sleepy smile…

Finally, she sat up in bed. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep. Getting up, she quietly slipped downstairs. The kitchen was dark and gloomy. Fumbling a bit, she lit a candle, and watched the soft yellow light flicker against the walls.

She pulled out a glass, and filled it with some muggle soda. For some reason, she felt like drinking something cold and fizzy. Taking long sips, her mind wandered once more.

Harry…

Her eyes filled with tears. She was thinking about him always. She feared for him always. The dangers he would have to face, hurdles he would have to cross…she found herself wishing she was with him, that she was suffering along with him, but she knew her parents would be shattered if she left. She took another sip, and a tear slid down her cheek.

_I need to talk to Hermione._

She wiped the tear away, and set her glass down. Picking up the candle, she made her way towards Hermione's room. The door was ajar.

'Hermione?' she called, softly.

No answer.

Quietly, she pushed the door open, and stepped inside. The room was darker than the rest of the house. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the candlelight.

The bed was empty.

Ginny stared for a moment, then turned swiftly, and rushed down the corridor.

'Mum! Dad! Wake up!'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The door opened, slowly.

Hermione stood back, her heart pounding. She felt a stirring of anger inside her. He was here… but he hadn't bothered to meet her. He hadn't cared to inform her he had returned. He was hiding from her…

A man stepped out. And Hermione's heart stopped.

Tall and lanky, he stood before her. His face had a few scratches, his pale skin scarred. His blonde hair was longer, and messier, standing up and in his eyes. He was dressed in worn out traveling robes.

When he saw her, his jaw dropped.

'H-Hermione?'

Hearing his voice again after all these months, the slight tremor, she felt the anger well up in her again.

'Since you've already distanced me from yourself, why not go back to calling me Granger?' she said, hotly.

He frowned at her. 'Come in. We need to talk.'

She stepped into the room, and he closed the door behind him. His room was exactly like Carla's. A candle stood on the bed stead.

'How did you find out I was here?' he asked.

'Why didn't you tell me you were here?' she spat. 'Then, maybe I wouldn't have had to find out like I did.'

'Don't snap, Hermione. Tell me, how.'

'First you left for five months! Not a single letter, not a single note, no news, no nothing! You could have been dead for all I'd known? But did you care! Oh no, you had to come back, and hide yourself away like this!'

'Hermione, I needed some time alone!'

'That I can understand! But why didn't you write?'

'Because,' he fired, hotly at her, 'I didn't want to be reminded of the world I'd left behind. I wanted to have my own time before I came back and fought all the battles I'll have to here.'

'Like?' she asked, angrily.

'The entire wizarding world! My family, who thinks my mother's death is my fault! The ministry, who hasn't exactly welcomed my with open arms after this whole fiasco. I might even lose my job! And then there's you! I knew things weren't going to be easy for us. We were married by force, and suddenly fell in love? That isn't exactly a happily-ever-after ending, Mya!'

Hermione fell silent. His logic had hit her. Suddenly, she felt a wave of pity towards him. She had been continuously thinking about herself, but now she realized that Draco was in a position as bad if not worse than hers.

Great.

Guilt.

'Okay,' she nodded. 'You're right. I shouldn't have shouted. But why didn't you come and see me? Why are you- hiding away here?'

He sighed. 'I'm not hiding, Mya. I got back jus this evening. I was going to come down to- explain the situation tomorrow.'

Hermione sat down on the bed. All her anger had been displaced with sadness and guilt.

'Oh, Draco…' she whispered. 'I'm sorry. You're- you're right. I've been sitting here, feeling sorry for myself.'

Draco sat down beside her, and put at arm around her. Hermione savored the feeling. It was one she hadn't felt in five months.

'You had a hard time,' he said, gently. 'We haven't been happy, Hermione. I think we should talk this whole thing out.'

She looked up into his eyes. 'Meaning?'

'What we're going to do, where we're going to live.' He pulled her a little closer. 'The works.'

'Understandable.' Hermione said, nodding. Then, she smiled up at him. 'But there's something else I want to do first.'

He looked puzzled. She leaned up, and softly kissed him.

'I haven't been able to do that for five months,' she said, with a small grin. 'Sure have missed it.'

Draco wrapped his arms around her, grinning back. 'Same here, Mrs. Malfoy. I sure have missed you.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mrs. Weasley bit her lip.

'A little walk!' she exploded. 'She says here she went for a little walk! At this time in the night?'

Arthur Weasley laid a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder. 'Calm down, Molly. This doesn't sound at all like Hermione. There must be a reason.'

'Nonetheless-.' Mrs. Weasley snapped.

Ginny turned away from her bickering parents. She was feeling sick with worry. Hermione's note reeked of lies. She hadn't gone on any walk.

She turned, and looked around the room. The window was open.

'Strange,' she murmured. 'Hermione never leaves the window open.'

She walked out, and breathed the crisp, cold air in. a few drops were dripping from the leaves. Ginny held out her hand, and caught one.

She turned around the room. Suddenly, her eyes fell on Hermione's desk. There was a small piece of crumpled parchment on it.

Ginny walked over to the desk, and unfolded the parchment. She bit her lip.

'Mom…' she said, hesitatingly.

Her parents turned to her. 'What's that, Gin?' her father asked, gesturing towards the paper in her hand.

'I think I know where Hermione is.'


	5. Marry Me

**CHAPTER 4**

When Hermione woke up, she had her arms curled around Draco's neck. She smiled into the sheets. Her Draco was back. They were together again.

The happy feeling, however, was erased by one of sudden alarm.

What was the time?

She grabbed Draco's arm, and twisted it so she could see the face of his watch. She gasped.

'Draco! Wake up! Quick!'

He stirred in bed. 'Just two more minutes mom…' he groaned.

Hermione stifled a chuckle, and shook him hard. 'Draco, get up NOW.' She said.

Draco groaned again, and propped himself up on his elbows. When he saw her, a smile lit his face.

'Hey gorgeous,' he said, still smiling.

'Hey back to you. Now hurry and get up! We need to get dressed!'

Immediately, he adopted a puppy-dog face. 'Is that anyway to greet the man you love after five months and a night of passionate love making?'

Hermione paused and considered. 'It isn't,' she admitted, 'it's the way to greet a man who can't get his lazy ass out of bed so that the Weasleys won't be damn worried about his wife's disappearance.'

A look of acknowledgement spread across Draco's face. 'Ah. That explains it.'

He scooted out of bed, and quickly began throwing his clothes on. He stole another glance at Hermione, who was just pulling her sweater over her head. As the material passed over her white throat, he caught a glance of a deep red mark on it. Smiling, he continued buttoning up his shirt.

'It'll take us about fifteen minutes to walk back.' Hermione said, now shimmying into her jeans. 'We better hurry.'

'There's no need for that,' Draco replied. 'I have my broom with me.'

Hermione stole an uneasy glance at him, which he caught.

'Oh, come on, Mya!' he said, exasperated. 'You sit in front, and I'll hold on to you! It's perfectly safe!'

'It's a narrow piece of wood and a few bristles about fifty feet in the air,' Hermione retorted, but didn't make any further complaint.

When she was done dressing and smoothing down her hair (and when Draco was done dressing and casting a loving glance at his hair) he dragged her across the room, and picked up a broom from the corner. He threw the window open, and glanced back down at the broom.

'Up!' he commanded. The broom leapt into position. Draco quickly jumped over it, and gave Hermione an expectant look.

Giving a deep sigh, Hermione swung her leg over the broom, and sat down. Her hands went down to the wood, and held on so tight her knuckles went white.

'We're not even in the air yet and you're already shaking,' Draco remarked, mildly.

Hermione turned and gave him a dirty look.

Draco smiled at her, and kicked off. Immediately, she turned around again, presumably to concentrate on not falling off. Skillfully, Draco maneuvered the broom out of the window, and into the night sky, ignoring the little remarks like "We're gonna die,' coming from Hermione in the front.

He rolled his eyes, and guided the broom down the path Hermione has followed to get to the inn. In less than three minutes, they were circling over the Burrow, Hermione clutching Draco's shirt tightly, preparing for what she was sure would be a bone crunching landing.

She was, therefore, quite surprised when Draco gently touched the ground, without as much as a hitch. He slid of the broom, and helped her off too.

'We're on the ground!' Hermione gasped. 'Oh, thank you _god._'

'It couldn't have been all that bad,' Draco said, with an amused smile.

'It was,' Hermione replied, dryly.

They walked up to the door of the burrow, and knocked. Hermione bit her lip, worried about how everyone's reactions would be.

The door was thrown open by Ginny. She was still dressed in her purple and white pajamas. She gaped for a moment at both of them, and then suddenly threw herself on Hermione, and hugged her tightly.

'Oh thank god!' she cried. 'You're all right. You're not going to believe how worried we've been. We found the letter Carla sent you, and Mom and Dad headed to the Haggard Bear. They asked for you at the desk, and the man took them upto the Carla's room, but she told them the whole story so they decided to leave you and Draco alone. But we've still been worried!'

Hermione hugged her back. 'Sorry I didn't tell you,' she said, 'I was kind of occupied.'

'Why am I not surprised!' Ginny exclaimed, stepping back and surveying Draco. 'It looks like someone's decided to make an appearance. Malfoy, I'd kill you if I could. You don't know how sad Hermione's been all this time.'

Draco looked uncomfortable, and glanced at his shoes, mumbling something. Ginny shut him up, by throwing herself on him to, and hugging him fiercely.

'Oh, stop being so formal. You're family now!'

She stepped back, and whacked him over the head. 'Don't ever vanish like that again,' she said, curtly, 'Do not ever!'

Draco grinned at her. 'Don't worry Weaslette. I won't.'

After her somewhat affectionate greeting, Ginny decided to go back to bed.

'I'm really tired waiting up for you two,' she said, 'and I think mom and dad are too. I'm going back to bed. Dad'll probably wake up in an hour or so to go to office, but mom might want to sleep in. Don't wake her, will you?'

'Don't worry,' Hermione promised. 'We won't. Draco, you can stay in my room for now.'

Draco smirked down at her. 'We _are _ married, you know,' he remarked. 'I think the "for now" calls for an omission.'

'Good point,' Hermione said, with a bit of a frown, as they climbed up the stairs. When they reached the landing, she turned and faced Draco.

'You know, it doesn't feel like we're properly married yet.'

Draco chuckled. 'Could that be because we somewhat hated each other during marriage?'

Hermione nodded. 'I suppose so. It's so unromantic.'

'Well, my dear Hermione,' Draco said, grinning, 'If that's the case-.'

He broke off, and got down on his knee, sweeping a small primrose from a nearby vase.

'My dear Hermione,' he said, in a solemn voice, 'You are but my heart's desire, the blood that pumps in my veins, and the elixir of my very life. Please, will you give me the honor of being my bride _again?'_

Hermione looked down at him, an amused smile playing about her lips. 'I'll think about it,' she said, pensively, and then turning around walked off.

Draco caught up with her at the bedroom door, an indignant look on his face. 'What do you mean you'll think about it?' he asked, resentfully.

Hermione chuckled. 'Sorry. Couldn't resist.' She reached up, and gave him a long hug. 'Of course I will.' She whispered, in his ear.

The next morning, it was raining again. Draco and Hermione, who had marginally got the most sleep the previous night were up by about seven, and down in the kitchen. Mr. Weasley trotted in about half an hour later.

'Good morning Hermione,' he said, habitually. He snuck a glance at Draco. 'You too, I suppose, Draco.'

'Good morning Mr. Weasley,' Hermione said, while Draco merely nodded at him. 'I hope we didn't- um- keep you awake for too long last night?'

Mr. Weasley chuckled. 'Of course not,' he said, 'I'm fine.' Then, his voice turned grave. 'But before I leave I must talk to the both of you.'

Taking the hint, Hermione sat down at the table. Draco drew a chair and sat down beside her, but Mr. Weasley remained standing, coffee mug in hand.

'I must ask you two,' he began. 'What exactly you intend to _do_. I know Fudge has given you a long vacation, but for how long exactly? And do you really plan to go back to your original jobs? You, Draco, I doubt you might even get your job back. You work at the Quidditch department, don't you?'

Draco nodded.

Hermione glanced at Mr. Weasley.

'We were talking about this just last night,' she said, gesturing towards Draco. 'We- we plan to have a re-marriage.'

She went red as she said this, but Mr. Weasley merely nodded.

'Quite understandable. Do go on.'

'Well, after that we don't plan to go back to our jobs. You see, we know that we can't exactly join Harry and Ron at the Resistance, but we want to help.'

Mr. Weasley looked thoughtful. 'That's exactly the answer I was looking for,' he said. 'I'll tell you what. I have to leave for work now, but I'll do some asking around, and see if we can find something for you to do. Until then- I suppose I should say goodbye. Give Molly a hug from me, and don't disturb her too much, would you. She has a splitting headache.'

Hermione nodded. 'Of course, Mr. Weasley. Have a good day at work.'

Mr. Weasley quickly finished his coffee and left. When he was gone, Hermione came back into the kitchen.

'Are you hungry?' she asked Draco.

'Not really. I had a full meal at the inn last night.'

'Excellent. Neither am I. I'm going to take something up for Ginny, and then we can talk everything out.'

Draco simply nodded. Hermione quickly slathered some marmalade on toast, made more coffee and took it up to Ginny's room. She found Ginny sound asleep with her knees bent up. Smiling, she left it on the bedside table and quietly left. She knew Ginny had been up almost all of last night due to her little truant, and didn't want to disturb her.

She crept downstairs again, and found Draco sitting on the Weasley's sofa, lolling his head back, his eyes shut.

'Hi sleepy,' she said, sitting down beside him. he quickly jerked back up and smiled at her.

'You know, I've really missed you all this while,' he said.

She smiled. 'Me too. Promise me you will never, ever do that again.'

He looked her straight in the eye. 'I promise.'

**AN- Aw, he promised. That's so sweet. Anyway, next chapter up, and I've nicely made it somewhat longer than the others! Review people! I wasn't sure what you'd think about the concept of a remarriage, so I was feed back!**

**Love ME**

**SHOUT OUTS**

**FinnishGirl- Oops, were there a lot of mistakes in POTC? Sorry, I'll try to type slower now. But do not worry- I definitely will update fast!**

**Darktwistedpoet- thank you for the encouraging review. Yes, I will keep us this sequel.**

**CherryBloosomAngel-225- of course I'm bringing them back! They're Harry and Ron! But then again, maybe Harry'll die…muahahaha, I'll leave you in suspense…**

**Lilly- Thanks for the update! And the reason Molly went into hysterics is because, firstly, it's Molly Weasley, you must have noticed her slight tendency to go into hysterics every now and then. And secondly, because the era that they're in right now isn't exactly safe, what with Voldemort and all, and a disappearance in the middle of the night is quite scary, don't you think?**

**dracosgirl2515- Lol, who said all they did was kissed? And you can't update R.Change II? That is just sad…I love that story!**

**Alyssa- Aw, do you think the chapters are too short? Never mind, I'll start writing them longer.**

**ObSsEsSeD- Okay, you are just one annoying girl. I don't know why you post stupid reviews instead of, you know, calling and telling me? And yes, it's Return of THE Draco- Like you know, Return of the King, or whatever. It adds an artistic touch. **


	6. The New Job

**CHAPTER 5**

Mr. Weasley was back early that evening. He tramped in at about 6 O Clock, looking weary and tired. He found Draco and Hermione in the kitchen.

'Hello,' he said. 'How's Molly?'

'Oh, hi Mr. Weasley,' Hermione said, jumping up. 'How was your day? Would you like some coffee? I was just about to make. And Mrs. Weasley says she's a little tired, she had some soup at around two, but she's been in bed the whole day. Should I wake her up?'

'Oh, no need for that. Let her rest. My day was all right, but curse Willy Widdershins, he did his best to smuggle some illegal cauldrons into Bristol, and got into deep trouble. And yes, I'd do with some coffee.'

Hermione busied herself with the kettle. Mr. Weasley sat down at the table opposite Draco, lit his pipe, and inhaled deeply. When Hermione set a cup in front of him, he took a deep swig, and breathed out appreciatively.

'Excellent stuff, Hermione,' he said, admiringly. 'Nobody makes coffee like you.'

'She's quite special isn't she?' Draco noted, with a cheerful grin. Hermione blushed and sat down beside him.

'Mr. Weasley-.' She began.

'Yes, yes I know,' Mr. Weasley said, 'Straight down to business. Now, I've been doing some talking around today…'

Hermione and Draco leaned forward.

'As you'll know, we have two or three Resistance spies in the Ministry. It's absolutely vital to know exactly what they're up to. They are the only people who have direct communication links with the Resistance itself. This, of course, is for everyone's safety.'

He was saying all this for Draco's benefit.

'Well, I've been talking with them today, and they have said that the most difficult obstacle the Resistance is facing right now is that they need knew members. Recruiting is a difficult job. They can't exactly advertise, as you might imagine.'

Hermione nodded. 'It was a problem that the Order faced too. You can't grow if you can't advertise.'

Mr. Weasley smiled at her.

'Very concisely put, Hermione. Now, this is where you two come in. Sources tell me, that what they really need now is some body that can help introduce new members to the resistance without getting them into trouble.'

There was a moment of silence. 'I'm beginning to see what you mean,' Hermione said, finally. 'Me and Draco have to sort of introduce the topic to potential members.'

'Oh, it's much more complex than that,' Mr. Weasley said, shaking his head. 'It will involve disguise and deceit of course, because if any Death Eater or official decides that you two are acting suspiciously, you'll be in deep trouble. It will also involve a lot of travel. You'll have to visit different places, to get into contact with these potential new members.'

'How will these members be chosen?' Draco asked, curiously.

'Oh, we- namely all of us Dumbledore supporters, who can't openly join the Resistance have our eye on many people. You two are in charge of persuading them to join the order.'

Hermione nodded. 'Right.'

'It will involve going to many far off places. And you will continuously be disguised. It might even be compared to a con artists job.'

'I think it can be easily managed.' Draco said. 'But how do we know who to tackle?'

'You will be given an emergency call by a man names Bill Smith,' Mr. Weasley said. 'You might consider him your boss. He will give you a file, which tells you who you have to attempt, and how you have to do it. But it's a dangerous job, and you'll have to be careful.'

Hermione smiled. 'I think I got that.' She glanced at Draco. 'We'll do it.'

'Excellent,' Mr. Weasley said. 'You'll be getting your first assignment tomorrow.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Hermione woke the next morning, she felt a sudden surge of excitement thinking of her new job. They would be getting their first assignment today. She turned around in bed, and saw Draco fast asleep with his mouth open. She gently nudged him.

'Wake up, Draco! It's today!'

Draco rolled onto his side, and faced her, quirking an amused eyebrow.

'Isn't that obvious?'

She laughed. 'Very funny. You know what I mean. Hurry up, let's get up and go down.'

True to her word, they were up and dressed in about twenty minutes. Both hurried downstairs, where they found Molly cooking breakfast, and Mr. Weasley reading his morning paper.

'Oh, good morning, dears,' she said, as they walked in. 'I'm sorry I was in bed all of yesterday. Arthur here was just telling me about your little mission.'

Hermione nodded. 'Yes, Mrs. Weasley. We felt we wanted to do our little part in this whole mess to.'

She bit her lip. 'Of course,' she murmured. 'But you will be careful, won't you?'

Hermione smiled and nodded. Draco murmured something that sounded affirmative.

'Excellent,' Mr. Weasley said. 'Now, you two listen to me. You're going to have to meet Old Bill today. He wants to meet at Knockturn alley.'

Hermione gave a little start. 'Knock-? Why on earth there?"

Mr. Weasley shrugged. 'It's a hush hush job, I suppose. You have to wait for him outside Borgin and Burkes. And wear cloaks and balaclavas. Nobody must recognize you. Got it?"

They both nodded.

'You must reach there by eleven AM. Bill will also be wearing a balaclava, but he said he'd hold a radish in his hand so you'd know who he was.'

Hermione chuckled. 'A radish?'

'Sure. You could carry a dead bat in your hand that place and you'd still be inconspicuous. And that's your key word.'

Draco nodded. 'Got it. We'll leave at ten thirty, so we'll have plenty of time.'

'Excellent,' Mr. Weasley said. 'Now, I really must be going. Bye, Molly dear. You two be careful. Good luck!'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At ten thirty sharp, both Draco and Hermione were ready. They were both wearing flowing black cloaks, and thick balaclavas which covered their faces. Molly had found them in an old cupboard.

'You two be careful,' she said, instructing them. 'Don't do anything reckless.'

'We won't.' Hermione promised. 'Bye, Mrs. Weasley.'

'Bye dear. Bye Draco.'

'See you.'

Both stood in front of the raging fireplace. Hermione caught up a fistful of glittering floo powder, and threw it into the grate.

'Knockturn Alley,' she said, with just a slight tremor in her voice. 'The fire turned emerald green and seemed to wink at them. She stepped in.

Immediately, the world was swirling around her. An array of fireplaces flashed in front of her, before she was thrown through one.

She emerged in a dark, dusty shop, with many racks. She glanced around in wonder. Suddenly, she was aware of Draco, falling out of the fire behind her.

'You okay?' she asked, turning around.

'Yeah.' Draco checked their surroundings. 'We're in Borgin and Burkes.'

'I know. You came here with your dad in the second year, didn't you?"

Draco looked, surprised. 'How the hell do you know that?"

She smirked. 'Long story. I'll tell you later. Come on, let's go outside.'

They walked out of the empty shop, and stood at the porch.

'Now,' Draco whispered, 'We're looking for radish guy. Any signs?"

Hermione checked. 'Nope. But there's a really scary looking guy there.'

Draco looked where she was pointing. It was a tall, meaty man, holding a scimitar, and grinning menacingly around.

'I see what you mean. This isn't exactly my favorite spot on earth.'

They waited in silence for a few minutes.

'Check out the guy standing next to the lamp post,' Draco whispered suddenly, from under the balaclava.

Hermione checked. It was a man dressed in black robes, a hood pulled over his head. He held a long smoking stick in one hand.

'What about him?' she asked. 'He isn't out of ordinary. Everybody here is that weird.'

Draco nodded. 'Yeah. But he's been checking us out under that hood ever since we got here.'

'You think he's planning something funny?' Hermione asked, anxiously.

'Might be. Or maybe he just wants to talk to us. Maybe that's our boss, Bill Smith.'

'So why hasn't he come over, yet?'

'We're early. He's probably waiting for the appointed time just to be sure. But keep your wands ready, just in case.'

However, it turned out there was no need. As the sinister clock struck eleven, the man pulled a radish out of his pocket. Hermione and Draco let out sighs of relief.

'He's coming towards us,' Hermione whispered.

Sure enough, the man was walking determinedly towards them. When he arrived however, his manner was cautious.

'Good morning,' he began.

'Good morning,' Draco replied.

'May I know what business brings you here?'

'We were sent by Arthur Weasley,' Hermione answered. 'To look for a man named Bill Smith. I assume it's you?'

'Ah yes. The radish. A bit of a give away, if I might say so myself. Follow me, and keep your voices low. We will be going into the neighbor hood pub. I will address you as Mr. and Mrs. Saunders, and you will address me as Mr. Juvel.'

'Right,' Draco said. The two followed him down the dingy street, into a small, stark pub. It had a sign over it, proclaiming, 'The Dusty Hole.'

'Apt name,' Draco muttered so only Hermione could hear. 'And very suggestive.'

She stifled a smile.

Bill Smith led them to a table right at that back. As soon as they seated themselves, a waiter appeared.

'Three fire whiskeys?' Bill looked around, questioningly.

'I'll have a butterbeer please,' Hermione replied.

The waiter hurried away with the order. As he left, Hermione and Draco noted he had a tail.

'Yes, an interesting person,' Bill agreed. 'You get all sorts here. Knockturn Alley is the haven for all those of us who don't fit into normal society. Ah, here are the drinks. Quick, of course. Now. Let's get straight to business. Arthur Weasley tells me you two can be trusted, so you're in the gang. I have an office on Harvey Street, just down from Diagon Alley. I will give you a card. Anytime I call you, you _must_ come there immediately.'

'Got it,' Hermione said.

'Now, I have to give you two your first assignment, but you have to come to my office first.

'But B-Mr. Juvel,' Hermione began, her voice sounding confused. 'Why didn't you just tell us to come to your office?'

'You'll see,' he replied. He slapped some money on the table for the drinks. 'Follow me.'

They got up a followed him. He led them out of the pub, and past the Knockturn Alley main street.

'This is way to Diagon Alley,' Hermione whispered.

'No. We won't go through the wall.'

True to his world, Bill led them around the wall, till they came to another street. It was very shady, with many trees overhanging the road, and creating a sort of green tunnel. They walked about two hundred meters down the road, till they came to a two storied brick building, with green shutters. The front door was painted white. Bill walked upto the door, and unlocked it.

'Welcome,' he said, 'to my office.'

He led them into a small, but bright room. It had all sorts of little touches, like pink lace curtains and a small blue vase with primroses in it. The floor was covered with an ochre yellow fluffy carpet. They were led through that room, to another one. This one was paneled with dark oak. There was a rosewood desk stacked with parchment in one corner. It had pens and other literary things on it. A large bookshelf adorned the wall, piled high with books. Draco could practically sense Hermione drooling.

At the other end of the room, however, was what appeared to be a large mirror. They were led straight to the mirror. Then, Bill took out his wand, and tapped it.

'_Ouvriro!'_ he said, softly. The mirror glowed green for a few minutes, but nothing else happened. Bill extended his hand, and pushed it.

Immediately it swung back, the way a rotating doorway would if you pushed it.

'I get it,' Hermione from under her balaclava. 'You fit it in like a rotating door, and then put a sealing charm so that if someone chanced to push it, it wouldn't revolve. It would do so only when you used the right spell.'

Bill turned. 'Right, Mrs. Saunders,' he said, 'you're mind is as good as they told me.'

Draco sensed Hermione blushing, and stifled a chuckle.

The mirror swung away, to display a tunnel. It looked like it simply had been caved out. There was no paneling or flooring. Just mud. It was lit with torches that were burning. Draco supposed they had a Permanent Flame spell on them.

'Please, come with me,' Bill said. They walked down the tunnel. Despite the torches, it was chilly, and Hermione found herself shivering.

After walking perhaps a hundred meters, the tunnel came to a red door. It simply ended there. Bill took a large golden key from him pocket, and slipped it into the lock. He pushed the door open.

They stepped inside.

'Welcome,' he said, 'to my _real_ study.'

'Wow,' Hermione whispered.

It was a room that was hollowed out under the ground. However, it was deeply unlike the tunnel. The floor had red marble tiles, and one corner had a black and gold oriental carpet. The walls were paneled with rich dark oak, and a few reddish gold tapestries hung down one. There was an ancient mahogany dress with gold handles at the edge, with a large hookah placed upon it. Opposite that were two rosewood clawed chairs, with wine colored plush velvet. It was a room that had been pulled out of ancient oriental origins.

'Yes,' Bill said, 'I have gone through many pains to furnish my study just the way I like it. It's quite charming isn't it?'

Draco nodded. 'It definitely is.'

'And now,' Bill said. 'Why don't you remove your balaclavas? I assure you this place is perfectly safe. Nobody can ever find it.'

After a moments pause, Draco and Hermione pulled off their balaclavas. Bill, in turn, pulled back his hood. He transpired to be a tall, but sturdy man, with longish light brown hair, and a French beard. He smiled at both of them, and picked up a pair of winged glasses from the desk and slipped them on.

'Now,' he said, sitting down at his desk, and gesturing for them to sit down too. They seated themselves upon the clawed chairs, and Hermione marveled at the softness of the velvet.

'Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy,' he began, 'my name, as you might know, is Bill Smith. I work in the same departments as Arthur does, at the ministry ever since old Perkins retired. I'm one of the Resistance spies in the ministry, and I'm going to be the person to give you your assignments.'

They nodded. Bill reached under his desk, and took out a clear blue plastic file, with a sheaf of papers in it.

'This is your new mission,' he said. 'Go home and read it. It has everything you need, along with airtickets and the works. Before you go, let me give you a small brief up.'

'Thanks,' Hermione murmured.

'This man's name is Wilder Jenkins. He lives in Singapore. That's right, half a world away. He works as a foreign exchange director, you know, directing our foreign relations with Singapore. He has heard of the Resistance, and admires their work, but I doubt he'd just jump at a chance to work for them. It is your job to make him. All details are inside. Read it well.'

'Of course we will,' Draco assured him.

'If I ever need you, I will call you on-.' He reached under his desk, and pulled out a bright red cell phone. 'This.' He handed it to them. 'It's an emergency line number. Only I will have the number. Do you get it?'

'Absolutely,' Hermione said.

'When I call you, come straight here. Remember, it's No. 17 Harvey Street. The spell to open the mirror is-.'

'_Ouvriro,'_ Hermione said for him.

He grinned. 'Excellent, Mrs. Malfoy.'

'Call me Hermione.'

'Right, Hermione. I'm Bill. Now, I have business to attend to. You two get home and go through the file. You leave tomorrow.'

'Absolutely,' Draco said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Sorry, there are no shout outs at the end of this chapter. I'll write them with my next update.**

**For those of you who complained that the story wasn't going anywhere, now that Draco's back it is! Hermione the con artist…hm, I like the sound of that.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, you know I love guys!**


	7. Mr and Mrs Saunders

**CHAPTER 7**

The Clevenhilde Hotel was one of the fanciest hotels in Singapore. It was a twenty story building, which was built around a lawn and swimming pool. The manager, Gordin Schedwinker was a tall, but gaunt man, with sallow skin. His dusty red hair was matched by a gob of reddish hair on his chin, which he claimed gave him a clever, disarming type of look. He wore the finest suits around, and had a pair of black glasses that were perched precariously on the edge of his nose.

He was appreciatively sipping his morning tequila, when the couple entered the hotel lobby. The woman was of normal stature. He noted her formal beige suit and skirt, lightly made up face, and brown hair pulled back into a bun with approval. She held a file under her arm.

Yes, he thought, a true English woman. One with character.

Following her was a tall man, with blonde hair that was slicked back. He wore green framed glasses, and was dressed in a formal blue suit. They walked up to his desk with unmistakable poise.

'Good morning,' the woman said. 'I believe you have a room booked for us? Mr. and Mrs. Saunders?'

Schedwinker glanced at his register. 'Of course,' he said, warmly. 'Yes, we have one of the finest rooms reserved you! Do you have any baggage?'

'As a matter of fact,' Mrs. Saunders said, 'it's in the car.'

'Ah, excellent. It will be sent up. I will have someone show you to your room.'

'Thank you. Oh, and one more thing…'

'Yes?'

'We're here on official business,' Mr. Saunders said. His voice was deep. 'Do you book appointments?"

'Yes, absolutely.'

'Please book us an appointment with Mr. Wilder Jenkins, of the Foreign Exchange Department.'

'Of course. I shall notify you of what time. Tim! Show Mr. and Mrs. Saunders up to their rooms!'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When the bellboy had left, graciously tipped, Hermione turned to look at their room. It was, she noted, surveying it with a critical eye, quite a nice room. She chose a tall-backed wine velvet armchair, and sunk down into it. She kicked off her heels, and arched her feet.

'Well, everything's going according to the plan now,' she murmured to Draco, who had settled on the double bed. 'we'll have an appointment with Wilder Jenkins. Then, it's up to us to convince him.'

'Hm.' Draco acknowledged, nuzzling against the silken pillow.

'Any idea how we're going to do that?'

'I dunno. I suppose we could tell him about the Resistance, and, oh I dunno, ask him whether it would be any problem between international relations or whatever crap.'

Hermione looked thoughtful. 'Actually, that's a good idea,' she admitted. 'When you're not trying too hard, you're actually clever. It's cute.'

Draco wrinkled up his nose. 'well, excuse me Mrs. Saunders. Are you calling me cute?"

Hermione walked over to the bed, and got in beside him. 'As a matter of fact,' she teased. 'I am. You're' terribly cute, Draco.'

he growled. 'Watch it, lady.'

'No really. you know, fluffy bunny type of cute.'

Draco pounced on her. 'Hey you,' he snapped. 'Do not compare me to a bunny. Ever. Is that understood.'

Hermione giggled. 'Draco, we're adults. Stop acting so kiddishly.'

'Hey, I was being perfectly mature until you called me a bunny!'

'Okay, okay,' Hermione sighed, finally admitted defeat. 'You're not cute, happy?'

He sat back. 'Better. Much better.'

'In fact you're positively ugly. I mean, you hair is just disgus-.'

She never finished. Draco was on her again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Lol, short chapter I know. Sorry guys, this chapter has been a bit of a let down. I was going to continue it right upto their meeting with Wilder Jenkins, but somehow this chapter isn't all that satisfactory. So I'm posting it up, and then doing that as the next chapter. This is a sort of…fill in chapter, you could call it. It doesn't have much substance to it.**

**And Clevenhilde Hotel is completely fictitious, it is NOT REAL. I didn't know whether to make it a Muggle Hotel or not. Initially it was supposed to be, but then I had the manager fix them up an appointment with a member of a magical department. **

**SHOUT OUTS**

**twinkerbell23- Lol, very scientific. But that proposal was meant to be cliché. It's Draco's way of poking fun at Hermione's ahem romantic side. **

**darktwistedpoet- Yeah, I guess she shouldn't have knocked. It didn't strike me at that time. thanks for pointing it out though!**

**CherryBlossomAngel-225- hehehe, you're reviews are always fun to read. very, very emotional…but as for killing Harry…muahahaha evil look**

**Lady-of-the-moon- Yep, I have a plot for this one. It's called Hermione the Con Artist, and hey I like it! Lol, and there's plenty of Voldemort too. And I know what you mean about boring jobs. Hermione is like, meant to be a con artist, what with her brains and all.**

**Lilly- Yeah, this story has been filled with fill-up chapters, you know, which don't really have anything in them. Sorry if I'm being something of a let down. My mood is very drab right now, owing to exams etc. But don't worry- I'll fill in more action in the chapters-to-come!**

**ObSsEsSeD- I'm not even responding to this review. Good luck for maths!**

**Crystallized Snow- Lol, a silent reader. I used to be one of those before I started writing. And then I figured out how much a review actually means! And I love your name by the way…it's so…cold.**

**dracosgirl2515- Oh man, stop reading this and go update RC II NOW! That's all I'm going to say…**

**Nikita- Hey, thanks for the suggestion! Except, I don't really want this to be a songfic type of. I'd rather it was my own thing, if you know what I mean.**


	8. Shoot

**CHAPTER 9**

'So what's a Foreign Exchange Department anyway?' Draco asked.

He was fully dressed, once more in a formal black suit, flipping through the file that Bill had handed them.

'Hm?' Hermione asked, carelessly, as she brushed her hair in front of the mirror.

'We're in a Muggle Hotel. I asked the manager to book us with Jenkins from the Foreign Exchange Department because that's what's written in the file. He didn't bat a fucking eyelid. So it's obviously a Muggle thing. But then how come Wilder Jenkins works there?'

'It's a disguise, I suppose,' Hermione said, carefully gathering her hair in a knot. 'You know, a cover. He works for the Singaporean Ministry, he's a Senior Advisor to the Minister. That's quite a prestigious job, of course.'

'So what exactly are we going to tell him?' Draco asked, leaning back in his chair.

'Well,' Hermione murmured, gliding a lipstick over her lips, 'I thought your idea was pretty good. You know, telling him we were concerned about international relations because of the problems that the Resistance was creating. It'll make a good start, anyway.'

'Right,' Draco said, 'Are you done yet? You look fine.'

'Are you sure?' Hermione asked, worriedly, standing up and twirling in front of the mirror. She was dressed in a beige skirt and jacket, with a pressed white shirt, and pencil heels. 'Do you think it's formal enough?'

'It's perfect,' Draco said. 'Get your briefcase, the one with the phony documents, and lets leave.'

Hermione picked up her small briefcase, and they exited the room.

'A taxis waiting for us downstairs,' Hermione said, as they stepped into the elevator. 'I talked to the manager, he said he could manage it.'

'Good,' Draco said, 'So where do we meet Jenkins?'

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. 'Draco, did you even read the file? Don't you know about the Singaporean Ministry?'

'As a matter of fact…' Draco's voice trailed off. Hermione looked exasperated.

'It's on Bakelar Street.' she told him. 'Just behind the Muggle parliamentary,'

'Ah,' Draco said, 'But how's it hidden?'

'Well,' Hermione said, rifling through the file and biting her lip, 'It says here that you have to enter an old library, and find the Book of Ancient Curses.'

'And that will help us how?' Draco said, trying carefully to remove the sarcasm from his voice.

Hermione shrugged. 'I wouldn't know. Oh, Mr. Schedwinker,' she said politely, to the manager who had just stepped up. 'Where is our taxi?'

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

'Bakelar Street,' a voice grunted.

Hermione jerked up. She had been deep in thought the whole way in the taxi. She had been thinking of things that she and Draco had never talked about, and how these were somehow restricted from all their conversations. No matter how immersed she was in her job, they always remained at the back of her mind.

'_Where had he been all these months?_

She knew she couldn't ask.

Now, she was jerked from her revelry by their cabbies hoarse voice.

This is Bakelar Street, then?' she asked, looking around. It was in dilapidated condition.

'Aye,' the cabbie affirmed. 'Where did ya say you wan'ed to go?'

'The old library,' Draco said, clearly.

'Just arn'd the bend, that,' the cabbie said, pointing. 'You go alon' around that gray buildin' there, and it's just roun' the bend. Can't miss it. Dirty green buildin'. Green, I ask you.'

'I think green's a perfectly wonderful color,' Draco said, coldly. 'Thank you very much. How much do we owe you?'

'Three dollars,' The cabbie grunted, scratching his chin. 'Wasn't too far.'

Draco looked lost.

'I'll take care of that.' Hermione said, snatching the bunch of notes in his hand. she counted off three dollars and handed it to the cabbie who left.

'We go around the gray building,' she muttered. 'Come on, Draco.'

They quickly walked down the shabby street, and took a turn near the drab building that their cabbie had pointed out. About a hundred feet ahead they saw a two story tall building, that seemed to be made of green bricks. It had brown shutters, and a large red front door.

'Okay, that's the building,' Hermione said, breathlessly. 'Come on.'

They strode up to the building. Draco quietly pushed the door open, and they stepped inside.

Hermione saw at once that they had entered some sort of foyer. It was a very small room, without any doors. There was a hat stand in one end, and a round fluffy red carpet on the floor. A winding staircase led up from it.

'well, I guess we go up,' Draco said, hesitatingly. He and Hermione quickly mounted the stairs, and found themselves in a much, much larger room. This one seemed to extend into corners that were shrouded in darkness. It was lined with many book shelves, stacked with thousands of books of all shapes and sizes. To one corner, there was an ancient desk, with a red haired lady sitting at it. With some distaste, Draco noticed the way her moth-eaten dress clung to her skimpy body and her wrinkled face looked a thousand times sharper with a pair of winged glasses perched on the very tip of her nose. As they approached, she appraised them with brilliantly green eyes.

'Good morning,' Hermione said, 'We're looking for the Book of Ancient Curses.'

She nodded. 'Your name?'

'Hermione Malfoy.'

'Of course. Appointment with Wilder Jenkins, I have it written down. The books on that shelf- the big red one. Tap the front page with your wand and say _Revelo._'

'Thanks,' Hermione said.

They quickly strode across to the shelf that the lady had pointed out, and found the large red book, with the words "Book of Ancient Curses" embossed on its glossy cover. Hermione carefully pulled it down from its shelf, and flipped to the front page.

'You do the honors,' she said, glancing up at Draco. He took out his wand, and tapped the front page, which was a short introduction to curses.

'Revelo,' he said, clearly.

Immediately, the book's page seemed to deform and mutate. It glazed over, and the words started running into each other, till they formed a lake of blackness in the middle of the parchment. Slowly, this disappeared, and a hint of silver seemed to creep across the surface of the page, until they were looking at a small mirror. Draco leaned down.

'It's not a mirror,' he muttered. 'It's- glass, I think. I can see a room down there. Fireplace.'

Hermione bent her head. 'Reminds me a bit of the Atrium,' she murmured. 'But-.'

'Go ahead then!' The woman said, loudly from behind them. They turned, and she smiled encouragingly at them. 'Just jump in, you'll be there in no time at all.'

'Um… jump in?' Hermione asked, hesitantly.

The librarian smiled and nodded. 'Lean forward and push your face into the page. You'll enter like that. Go ahead, then, it's easy!'

'Oh…sure,' she said, apprehensively. 'I'll just- Draco, can you hold my wand?'

'Sure,' he said, taking it. He held the book out for her, and Hermione nervously leaned forward. As her eye came closer to the silvery page, she began to see details of the room inside- a shiny brown floor, and a large fireplace, with roaring flames. All of a sudden, the tip of her nose touched the page.

Immediately, her feet left the ground, and she was thrown into the page. She seemed to be whirling past a black sky and many, many starts, but before she could even start wondering whether she should count them, a blue light blinded her, her feet hit the ground with a jarring sensation, and the room around her slid into focus.

She was in a very small room, which had a floor made of glistening oak panels, and walls painted a soft beige color. In front of her was a beautiful gilded fireplace, with golden edging, inside which a fire was roaring. Behind her was what looked like a glass pyramid, which was reflecting so much of the soft firelight she could see what was inside.

All of a sudden, the form of the pyramid seemed to shimmer a little, and a dark shaped appeared inside. Immediately, the whole pyramid was filled with blue light, and the next minute, Draco stumbled out.

'Woah,' he said, dazedly.

She gave him a minute to take in his surroundings, and then asked, 'What do you think the blue was?'

'Security, I suppose. I dunno. Here's your wand, by the way.'

He handed it to her, and she gently pocketed it.

'Where do we go from here?' Draco asked, his voice thickening. 'I'm feeling slightly claustrophobic.'

'I didn't know you were claustrophobic.' Hermione said, looking surprised.

'One of the main reasons I never made out with anyone in a broom closet. Is that floo?'

'Yep,' Hermione said, glancing at the little silver pot balanced on the mantelpiece. She picked up a fistful, and threw it into the fire.

'Office of Wilder Jenkins.' she said, clearly.

The fire roared up, a startling emerald green. Hermione cast Draco an apprehensive look, and stepped inside.

Immediately, she was thrown into motion, and a million fireplaces swiveled in front of her. She noticed that most of them didn't seem to have fires, and at the same time that there was a significant lack of soot in her own Floo journey. Suddenly, it struck her that in this part of the world, fires weren't commonly used, and she felt a small prickle of fear, wondering if she would be able to get out the other side. Just as the prickle developed into full-fledged panic, however, her feet hit the ground, and she stumbled out of a particularly big fireplace, with a neat array of logs but no fire.

She was perfectly clean.

After quickly sweeping a stray strand of hair into place, she turned and surveyed the room she had stepped into. It was a spacious office, with a warm brown carpeting. Above the fireplace there were a few pictures of a wizarding families, presumably Wilder Jenkin's, and a little vase with small blue violets. There was a desk in front of her, and a man was sitting with his back to her. All Hermione could see of him was a baldish head, with a little rim of rusty-gray hair, and a large brown trench coat.

In a few seconds, Draco had also landed beside her. He quickly appraised the office, looked at her, and then over at the man on the desk.

'Excuse me?' he said, tentatively.

Immediately, the man startled and jumped around, and Hermione saw the rest of his face. It was a round, kindly face, with small gray eyes, plenty of laugh lines, and a wide smiling mouth, that now looked slightly startled. a pair of round glasses perched on his nose.

'Good heavens, I didn't hear you come,' he said, in a flustered but kindly way. Hermione found herself wondering exactly why the Resistance wanted to recruit him- he seemed kindly, but stupid.

'Do come in, do come in, I assume you are Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy?'

'Yes sir,' Hermione said, tentatively.

'Come in, thank you, yes, do have a seat-.' he gestured towards the easy chairs on either end of the desk. 'Anything to drink? Tea? Coffee?'

They took a seat, but politely declined. Hermione adjusted the briefcase of her knee.

Wilder Jenkins settled down on his chair, and swept a sheaf of parchment off the surface of the desk.

'Must thinking about sorting it out sometime,' he muttered, to himself. Then, he looked up at Hermione and Draco, and smiled kindly.

'My secretary told me you booked an appointment from a Muggle hotel?'

'Yes Mr. Jenkins,' Draco said, in a deep, official voice. 'We're from the English Ministry of Magic, and-.'

'English Ministry!' a small frown creased his as-it-is wrinkled forehead. 'Good heavens, they are blundering fools! Why Fudge was a pompous ass, and Scrimgoeur isn't the ideal minister either- no feeling, I tell you, a man of stone.'

'Um- yes,' Draco said, looking startled, ad exchanging a look with his wife. Wilder Jenkins noticed that.

'Good heavens pardon me,' he said, blearily. 'I'm not generalizing, of course…but honestly, the number of blockheads who've been flitting in and out- but, please continue, don't let me hold you up.'

'Er,' Hermione said, 'Actually, our visit has something to do about a large problem everybody in the wizarding world- and many Muggles at that- are facing.'

Wilder Jenkin's eyes widened. 'My dear child…' he said, breathlessly. 'That can only mean the Roftang Conspiracy…'

Something about the words stirred in Hermione's memory.

'The Rof- what?'

'Roftang Conspiracy, of course! It's a conspiracy that the Aurors are generating- it's been going on for years!'

Suddenly, Hermione remembered, and she grinned. she had a feeling Luna Lovegood would get along very well with this man.

'Okay…' Draco was looked bewildered. Hermione quickly blundered on.

'Actually, Mr. Jenkins, I was talking about Voldemort,' she said clearly.

She had wondered how Wilder Jenkins would accept the word- and she was impressed. He merely snorted.

'Oh,' he said, 'Him. Horrible man, _I _think. Not stupid, I'll admit, but just not my type of guy.'

'He's a murderer,' Draco said, coldly.

Again, Wilder Jenkins looked surprised.

'I suppose you take this very seriously, and all? Well, I suppose I should to, but you know, in South East Asia…there's very little chance…but it's wise to remain vigilant, I suppose…'

'Exactly,' Hermione said. 'And that's what we've come to talk about.'

'So you said,' Wilder Jenkins murmured.

Her next question was brick hard.

'I assume you have heard about the Resistance?'

His reply did not come immediately. A small glimpse of unclarity appeared in his eyes.

'Well, I can't deny…' he shifted, uneasily.

'The thing is,' Draco said, taking charge. 'As much as we believe that what the Resistance is doing is very noble-.'

Wilder looked up again and nodded. 'Very noble, indeed, I thoroughly approve.'

'Yes,' Draco said, 'But we feel they may be potentially dangerous to our relations with your country.'

Wilder's eyes popped out. 'Nonsense! Made up of good stuff _they_ are! Harry Potter- a thoroughly remarkable boy, _I_ say!'

'We want to have them abolished.'

'You shouldn't want anything of the sort, it's criminal. A wonderful bunch, that Resistance.'

'Mr. Jenkins, they are teetering on the edge of dying out as it is,' Hermione said, sharply and untruthfully. 'We want to wipe them out before they cause any more harm.'

'They're dying out?' Wilder's eyes widened. 'It can't be!'

'well, it is.'

'Well, you simply must do something about it, of course. Help them out!'

'They need new blood,' Hermione said, coolly. 'And they aren't getting it.'

'Well, most people are afraid, aren't they?' Draco said. 'The Resistance is facing a lot of these problems. Their people are becoming insufficient, and they need help.'

Suddenly, Wilder's eyes narrowed.

'Wait a minute,' he said, sharply. 'How do you know all this?'

Hermione and Draco glanced at each other.

'You know too much. You're one of them, aren't you?'

Hermione sighed.

'You aren't as foolish as we thought, Mr. Jenkins. May we be completely open with you.'

He was still regarding her suspiciously. 'I don't understand, but I think it would be best if you leave-.'

Draco put an end to his sentence. He got up, crossed the room to where a large, mahogany door was, and locked it. Then, he waved his wand towards the fireplace.

'Unetro!' he said, calmly. There was no noticeable change, but Jenkins paled visibly.

Draco turned back to him.

'You're familiar with the spell?' he asked, cocking an eyebrow. 'I can assure you that nobody will be able to enter your room till floo until I remove the spell. Now what I suggest, Mr. Jenkins, is this. I and my partner, who by the way is also my wife, are going to talk to you. Openly. Rudely, if need be. You will listen to us. If you approve, your life is going to change in ways you will never expect. If you don't, we are going to Obliviate your memory and leave. If you try to call for help, or harm us in anyway, we will stun you and leave. So I suggest you hand over your wand right now.'

A heavy silence followed these words. Hermione bit her lip. This was not how she had expected things to turn out. Both fixed their gaze on Wilder Jenkins.

The man was watching Draco thoughtfully, one finger stroking his fat chin. Then, finally, his face broke into a smile.

'Don't believe in beating around the bush, huh?' he asked, genially. 'I like you. The wand…'

And he tipped his wand into their hands.

Hermione and Draco faced Wilder Jenkins, unable to believe he would part so readily with his wand. He grinned at them said, said, 'Shoot.'


	9. That Night

**CHAPTER 10**

Hermione looked at Jenkins. Draco had just finished giving a rather blunt over view of exactly what the Resistance was up to, the problems it was facing, and how exactly Jenkin's could help.

'You have contacts,' he had said, frankly. 'With both the magic and muggle parliamentary. You could be very useful to us.'

He had finally stopped, and Jenkin's was looking faintly thoughtful. He glanced up at Hermione.

'You understand,' he said quietly, 'It's dangerous.'

'Yes,' she said, coldly. 'It will be quite dangerous. You will have to operate top secret. If you are found out, Voldemort's men will kill you.'

He sighed heavily.

'The Resistance might need me because of my contacts and my potion brewing skills. But the question is – do I need them?'

There was a silence for a few minutes. Then, Draco said,

'May I speak freely?'

Jenkins gave him a wry smile. 'Any freer than you just were? Is it possible?'

Draco gave him a gruff grin. 'It is. You want to know if you need the Resistance? Tell me, do you enjoy sitting in this office day in day out?'

Jenkins bristled. 'My job-.'

'Is crap.' Draco said, coolly. 'It's boring and monotonous, and I'm sure you want something different.'

There was another pause. Wilder Jenkins licked his lips.

'I'll need to think this one over.' he said, quietly. 'I will write to you this evening. You have my word that I will not tell anybody about this meeting.'

Draco surveyed him for a long moment.

'I trust you.' he said, finally. 'Ill expect your owl by nine.'

Without another word, he and Hermione got up, and flooed their way out of his office.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Back in the hotel, Hermione kicked off her shoes, and leaned back on the bed.

'Oh, my feet ache,' she moaned, softly.

Draco chuckled. 'if you wear shoes like that I'm surprised they didn't fall of. Well, what do you think, love?'

'About the shoes?'

'Don't play dumb.'

'I think he'll accept.'

'Honestly?'

'Oh yes. You knew just how to deal with him, Draco. You were open and frank and I think he respected that. And you were right about another thing- I'm sure he _does_ find his job monotonous, he just didn't realize it. You're putting it flat on the table like that is going to make him think. And when he thinks it over, he's going to realize he wants to.'

'I think so to.' Draco agreed, flopping down beside her on the bed. 'I think we can regard our first mission as a success, don't you? At any rate, we'll get an answer by nine. Then we can leave this place tomorrow, and we'll be back in England.'

'Oh yes.' Hermione agreed. She glanced up at Draco again.

A heavy silence fell between then, as they lay side by side on the bed. Draco turned over, and gazed fondly at her.

'We'll have the wedding, when we get back, won't we?' he asked, softly.

She simply smiled, and put her arms around him. He hugged her back, and pulled her softly into his chest.

'I'll take that as a yes. It'll be marvelous.'

There was another soft silence.

'Draco,' Hermione said, suddenly. 'You know about how there are no secrets in marriage?'

'Hm…' Draco murmured softly, burying his face in her hair.

'So then- can I ask you a question?' she asked, timidly.

'No.' he replied, flatly.

She glanced up in surprise.

'I don't want to talk about where I went Hermione,' he said, quietly, but firmly. 'I think that's one of those things which are best kept secret.'

'Was it that bad?' she asked, tenderly.

He nodded. 'It was. But that's the past. And I'll tell you what's going to happen now. We're going to get married properly in a posh church. We're going to go back to the manor, not stay at the Burrow. I've been avoiding it all this time because it's filled with memories I don't want to keep. But I think it's high time we faced them. We're going to the manor, and we're going to love exciting lives, traveling around the world.'

'Of course.' Hermione replied. 'But have you ever thought about the future? Careers and so on?'

Draco said quietly. 'All that hangs on one question only- the final battle. Will Harry beat Voldemort? If that happens, I think we can plan the rest- careers etcetera. But until then, I think we should put all we've got into the resistance. By god, that's what I'm going to do.'

Hermione leaned forward, and kissed him softly on the lips.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That night, they ordered in. They didn't feel like heading to the restaurant. A waiter brought in steaming platters of boiled fish and noodle soup, and spread it out on the glass table in their room, leaving with a polite salutation. Hermione quickly served herself and Draco and handed him a fork.

'It looks good.' she said.

'Yes it does.' Draco agreed. He was looking straight at her.

Hermione glanced up in surprise. She didn't think she was looking very good, in a furry bathrobe with bunny slippers. But then she saw where Draco's eyes were trailing and giggled.

'Don't stare. I forgot to tie it tightly. And I was talking about the food.'

'Oh.' he said. 'Oh.' And, 'Don't tie it. I like it where it is.'

Hermione smiled again, but didn't tie up the neck of her bathrobe.

'Fish?'

'Of course.'

'Time?'

'Five to nine.'

Instinctively, they both glanced towards the window, but all they could see was a dark patch of night.

'You think he forgot?' Hermione asked, quietly.

Draco shook his head. 'I doubt it. He-.'

But before he could continue, they heard a light tapping at the window. A brownish owl was hovering outside.

Immediately, Hermione was on her feet, unfastening the glass. The owl hopped in, and held out it's leg. She took the letter tied to it, and slowly unraveled it.

'What?' Draco asked, urgently. She didn't answer, so he walked up to her.

'What's the matter?'

She swallowed. 'It isn't from Jenkins. It's from the Singaporean Ministry. They knew that we went to visit him, and want to talk to us, because- he was fund murdered half an hour ago…'


	10. Back to the Office

**CHAPTER 11**

Draco stared at Hermione.

'Show me that letter!' He ripped it from her, and hastily scanned it.

_Mr. and Mrs. Saunders,_

_You requested a meeting with Mr. Wilder Jenkins this morning and in consequence to that we would like to talk to you since he was murdered tonight._

_Ministry of Magic, Singapore _

There were a few seconds of silence.

'In consequence to that..' Draco quoted, slowly. 'That sounds a lot like-.'

'They're accusing us, yes.' Hermione said nervously.

Draco wheeled round to look at her.

'They'll ask a lot of questions. Probe into a lot of matters.'

'Probably.'

'Won't they- won't they want to know why we called that meeting?'

Hermione did not answer. Both of them were thinking the same thing.

'We- we can't tell them.' Hermione said, in a small voice. 'About the resistance.'

'Of course not.' Draco agreed. 'We'll need to think of a suitable lie.'

Hermione looked up at him. Her face was stricken. 'Oh god, Draco. Lie to the Ministry!'

'There's no other choice.' Draco said, soberly. Then, as she began to cry softly, 'Darling, it's horrible, but you can't lose it now. We have so much more to do. We still have to fight.'

She hastily wiped her tears. 'I know.' she whispered. 'I know.'

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

'Well,' Hermione said, softly. 'This is it.'

Draco stared at the old library in front of him. 'Yes, it is.' he said, softly. He glanced at his wife. 'Are you cold?" She had quickly slipped into a suit and a heavy coat, but he could see her shivering.

'No. Just a little scared.' she admitted.

Draco put his arm around her. 'Don't worry. Nothing's gonna happen, you know that.'

'Maybe,' she said, softly, 'Come on Draco. We have to go.'

They quietly pushed open the door of the faded green building, and slipped inside. This time, however, it wasn't empty. Two burly men is maroon robes stood inside, holding their wands. When the two entered, they grimaced.

'Um,' Draco faltered, 'We- we just-.'

One of them cut across. 'Your name?'

'Mr. Saunders.'

'Is this your wife?'

'yes.'

'Please climb the stairs. Ministry officials await you. Please leave your wands here with us.'

'I don't think-.' Draco frowned.

'_Please leave your wands here with us.'_

Draco sighed, and pulled his wand out of his pocket. Hermione did likewise, and they both handed them over to the officials.

'Thank you. Up the stairs, please?'

They began to climb, slowly. Draco glanced at Hermione and saw that she was very pale.

'Chill,' he whispered. 'It's all going to be fine.'

'Of course,' she whispered back, but still looked a little sick.

When they reached the top of the stairway and entered the library, they were greeted by four more officials. The librarian in the green dress was gone. One of the officials stepped up.

'Mr. Saunders?'

'Yes.'

'And this is your wife?'

'Yes.'

'You will please do as I say.'

'Of course.' Draco said, smoothly.

The ministry official gestured to one of his men, who came up with a small cushion on which were two small golden rings.

'You will please wear them.' he commanded the two.

Draco looked a little apprehensive. 'What are they?'

'Controlling rings. They will enable you to apparate to the ministry, and will ensure you don't apparate anywhere else, by- ah- mistake.'

The implication in his voice was clear. Glaring at him, Draco slipped one of the rings on his index finger, and handed the other to Hermione who did the same.

'Mine doesn't fit.' she said, holding up the loose ring. The official waived the matter aside.

'Never matter. It will work the same. Both of you will apparate to the Office of Wilder Jenkins, please. I will follow with my men.'

Draco reached out and took Hermione's hand. Closing his eyes, he apparated, and felt her body close by his the entire way.


End file.
